Early Life of Prince Harry

Early life

Harry (seated) on a 1987 Christmas card with his grandparents, brother, and cousins 

Peter and Zara Phillips

 

 

 

 

Harry was born in the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, on 15 September 1984 at 4:20 pm as the second child of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to Queen Elizabeth II, and Diana, Princess of Wales. 

  He was baptised with the names Henry Charles Albert David, on 21 December 1984, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie. His godparents are Prince Andrew (his paternal uncle); Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones (his paternal cousin once removed); Carolyn Bartholomew (née Pride); Bryan Organ; Gerald Ward (former officer in the Household Cavalry); and Celia, Lady Vestey (née Knight).

Diana wanted Harry and his older brother, William, to have a broader range of experiences than previous royal children and took them to venues that ranged from Disney World and McDonald's to AIDS clinics and shelters for the homeless.

 Harry began to accompany his parents on official visits at an early age; his first overseas tour was with his parents to Italy in 1985.

Harry's parents divorced in 1996, and his mother died in a car crash in Paris the following year. Harry and William were staying with their father at Balmoral at the time, and the Prince of Wales told his sons about their mother's death.